The largest Fringe Arts Festival in the southern hemisphere, Adelaide Fringe runs from February 19th to March 14th. Visit the Adelaide Fringe website for full program details.

Running from February 23rd to March 21st, The Brisbane Comedy Festival happens at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Visit the Brisbane Comedy Festival website for full program details.

Running from March 24th to April 18th, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival takes over the city with performances by artists from everywhere! Visit the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website for full program details.


An inter-dimensional portal, a security guard and his similarly aged son, a fugitive jelly baby and a cage of hamsters. Welcome to The House of Anomolous. Written and performed by Jamie Robertson, Jason Geary and Dom Phelan, this show is a peculiar mix of Science Fiction, surrealism and sitcom.

There were a lot of ideas crammed into the show, so a degree of focused attention was required by the audience to keep track of all that was happening. A lack of which that befell my companion who emerged after the hour at a loss as to what the story was all about. Most of the characters were given minimal back story of which was revealed fleetingly during the dialogue. Missing any of this information could seriously affect the audience’s empathy towards the characters, possibly finding them annoying rather than amusing.

The action often went back to the hamster cage which was an interesting subplot that inserted some poignant moments to the story causing the laughs to drop off. Despite involving the amusing concept of talking hamsters, this was an interesting way to provide a reprieve from the wacky goings on elsewhere in the show.

The performers were clearly enjoying themselves on stage. This trod the fine line between self indulgence and enthusiasm. As the season progresses, I’m sure they will be able to remain focused enough not to let this hamper the audience’s enjoyment. They threw themselves into the multiple roles they inhabited with gusto to create some wonderfully off the wall characters. A personal highlight was the disembodied head who was leader of “The Hand”, portrayed as a cross between a cartoon Nazi and a bureaucrat. The fugitive jelly baby came a close second, providing the opportunity to make plenty of amusingly dodgy puns.

Low budget props and scenery were used to great effect. The large number of costume changes resulted in characters still adorned in part of another’s gear which added a certain clunky charm to proceedings. The depiction of a car chase was particularly well done using various toys.

The House of Anomolous was a fantastically silly show. Those expecting a highly polished show may feel let down, but if you are willing to suspend your disbelief you will have a wonderful time.

For booking details and full details see the “Fringe Website”:http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/season/2007/show/148/

Tonights Gigs

Adelaide Fringe Festival (SA)
Visit the Adelaide Fringe Website for the full program.
Brisbane Comedy Festival (QLD)
Visit the Brisbane Comedy Festival website for full program details.
The Dog Theatre (VIC)
The Impro Cave Summer Club
7:30, $15/$10
Bookings through the Impro Melbourne website
Local Laughs
Join their Facebook Group for line ups.
7:30, $10
Comedy On The Edge
2pm, Exit by donation
On The March Impro ACT. At the Street Theatre, 13th & 14th Marh, 7pm. Tickets are available online at www.thestreet.org.au or from the Street Theatre Box Office (062) 6247 1221
Full Guide > >